An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/folgen

by Friedrich Kluge

folgen, vb., ‘to follow, succeed, result, obey,’ from the equiv. MidHG. volgen, OHG. folgên; comp. Du. volgen, AS. fylgan, folgian, E. to follow, OIc. fylgja; the verb common to West Teut. and Scand. for ‘follow,’ which has supplanted the common Aryan verbal root seg (see sehen), Lat. sequi. The origin of the cognates is uncertain. There are indications that the verbal stem is a compound; the first component may be voll; comp. AS. ful-eóde, ‘he followed,’ AS. and OLG. fulgangan, OHG. fola gân, ‘to follow.’ Consequently gehen (OHG. gên, gân) is the second part of the word. The composite nature of the word is supported by the fact that there are no old and widely diffused derivatives of the verb. It is true that the connection between the sense ‘to follow’ and the prefix voll has not yet been explained. —